THE NAMES OF GOD

NAMES OF GOD IN THE BIBLE: A DISPENSATIONAL APPROACH : PROF. M. M. NINAN
In Hebrew since Vowels are usually not written. Until well after Jesus' time, the Hebrew language was
written using only consonants. The Hebrew Scriptures were originally written without vowel points.
Therefore, during the time of the Septuagint and the early Christian era, the divine name contained
only the Hebrew consonants without vowel markings, and was written . (The English phonetic
equivalent is YHWH.) After vowel points were added, the name of God was written The English
phonetic equivalent with vowel points is most likely transliterated into English as YeHWaH—or very
probably YeHVaH. The actual phonetics of YHVH is not definitely known to common man. It is
believed to be a great secret, and "He who can rightly pronounce it, causeth heaven and earth to
tremble, for it is the name which rusheth through the universe." Since the wrong pronouncement of
the name of God is a heresy and misuse of the name of God, Tetragrammaton -- YHVH is never
pronounced by devout Hebrews. The name is usually substituted for by ADNI, which is pronounced
Adonai and means Lord.
The most powerful and important Name of God, which appears in the Torah, is YHVH, also referred to
as the Tetragrammaton and is the Ineffable Name. Its pronunciation has been lost. It was formerly
uttered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). Many scholars have
speculated on its pronunciation, producing names like "Jehova" and "Yaweh".“Yahweh” remains
the scholarly transliteration (and apparent pronunciation) of choice, today.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD (YHWH) your God (Elohim) in vain,
for the LORD (YHWH) will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Ex 20.7
Jews do not even attempt to pronounce this name; rather, a lesser Name is substituted, most
commonly "Adonai" in prayer, though some Jews may use "casual" and respectful substitutes such as
"Adoshem" or "Ha-Shem" ("The Name") outside of prayer.
Hence in the Hebrew tradition the four letter YHVH has been worked upon to derive several names
from it.
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